Take this with a grain of salt (or snow) for the moment, but WinterisComing points toward Icelandic outlet Vísir.is reporting that HBO met with a local production company, looking to set up filming in Iceland for January 2017. The series previously shot in Iceland for some frigid-looking scenes north of The Wall, though the report suggests Season 7 filming would incorporate at least “six major characters.”

Mind you, a January 2017 shoot wouldn’t necessarily mark the start of production for Season 7, just one of the many units shooting over the course of the year, though it remains uncertain exactly how far back production has been pushed to reflect the “winter is here” climate. Said Weiss and Benioff earlier this month:

We don’t have an air date yet … We’re starting a bit later because at the end of this season, ‘Winter is here’ - and that means that sunny weather doesn’t really serve our purposes any more. So we kind of pushed everything down the line, so we could get some grim, grey weather even in the sunnier places that we shoot.

We’ll learn more from Comic-Con 2016, but how far might Game of Thrones Season 7 end up delayed, to still be shooting significant scenes in January 2017?